March 29: Actions in Amsterdam and Finland; CITES outcomes - "The conference has been a disaster for conservation"

Greenpeace activist are blocking the Dell HQ in Amsterdam this morning. They are putting foam in front of the office trying to send Dell a message: they should do a spring clean of their processes by eliminate toxic substances from production.

Electronic devices are a complex mixture of several hundreds of materials. These dangerous substances cause serious pollution and put workers at risk when the products are produced or disposed of. Of particular concern is the exposure of children and pregnant women to lead and mercury. These metals are highly toxic and can harm children and developing foetuses even at low levels of exposure.

Three Finnish Greenpeace activists have climbed up Olkiluoto nuclear power plant construction crane demanding an end to the construction of the plant, reports IS-STT. Nuclear power is neither a necessary nor a beneficial part of a sustainable energy strategy and runs an unacceptable risk to the environment and to humanity. You can read more here.

The PR Kit-Kat-astrophe

03/24/2010, Greenpeace activists dressed in orangutans costumes hold a protest at Nestlé's Jakarta headquarters to demand that the manufacturer of KitKat, cut all ties with forest destroyer Sinar Mas group, including through third party suppliers like Cargill and IOI (Loders Croklaan).

The Wall Street Journal reports: "Nestlé takes a beating on social media sites". For nearly two weeks now, Greenpeace has waged war with the nutrition and food company over purchases of palm oil. Daniel Kessler, press officer at Greenpeace said: "This is the place where major corporations are very vulnerable". Marketing experts are split in advising Nestlé on how to handle this problem. Some are saying Neslé should shut all lines of communication, such as their Facebook page, whereas others say they should start over by creating new ones.

Reaction to CITES outcomes - "The conference has been a disaster for conservation"

Japan and New Zealand voted against the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) ban on trade in Atlantic tuna, Karli Thomas, Greenpeace New Zealand's oceans campaigner, told AFP that the decisions partly reflected a desire to avoid pressure to close the southern bluefin fishery.

An AP article quoted Greenpeace's Oliver Knowles saying: "The conference has been a disaster for conservation". Countries continue to argue for business as usual and continued trade of species devastated by human activity, as 73 million sharks are being killed every year.

Reuters reports that the CITES conference has placed one shark species on the protective list but has has once again failed to listen to scientists, blocking efforts to do the same for other species. The Guardian continues the criticism saying that aggressive lobbying operation borrowed tactics used at whaling negotiations.